Mr E Ahmed Union Minister of State for Railway said that work on the 19 km rail cum road bridge over Ganga between Digha and Sonepur was progressing satisfactorily.

The minister said that “The bridge is likely to be completed by December 2012. It’s going to be the longest rail cum road bridge of the country.”

The minister after inspecting the work progress on Sunday. Pleased with the progress, the minister also announced an award of INR 50,000 to the team erecting the bridge.

The minister while detailing the features of the bridge said they would make maximum use of steel. He said that “Out of the 39 pillars, 37 have been completed and work on pier cap and super structure is in full swing.”

The IRCON which has been awarded the contract to build the steel frame of the bridge, has already established its workshops two on the northern end and one on the southern end of the bridge site for making fabricated girders. Each girder weighs nearly 300 tonne.